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Thread: Petit Crouton/Prizm Fried?

  1. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by Obi1 View Post
    I totally symphatise with you, I did the same mistake with a Hasbro FX board the other day. The reverse polarity killed the Audio amp (well, actually a transistor drive in the newer Hasbros), interestingly everything else remained intact, it still scrolls.

    No offense meant, but I really thought, that a PC - which is far from being cheap - has a reverse polarity protection. After all, reverse polarity can happen even with experience users, if they are in a hurry/just tired or whatever. If the battery connections are not protected, this has to be officially requested as improvement. IMHO.
    He didn't say he had a PC, he has a Prizm...different boards, one of which, the PC, has a voltage regulator...the other one, the Prizm does not. It's been awhile since the development days, but if memory serves, Erv does indeed have reverse polarity protection on the PC and CF boards. Maybe if we're lucky Erv or Zook will chime in and confirm or refute me.

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  2. #12

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    Yes it was a prism, which is based on the PC but works off a single cell li-ion battery.
    BTW I wasn't counting off reverse power protection, I was being careful, just messed up. The battery holder I bought from TCSS is completely symmetric with the + and - stamped in the black plastic and it's really hard to see. So I got a light out to check it first, but must have just misremembered which side was which when I put the battery in.

    Does a protected 18650 limit the current which could have helped? Or just shut down the battery if it gets too hot, which wouldn't have helped. Can't a diode protect a circuit like this?

    I'm not complaining at all about the design. It was totally my fault.
    Quote Originally Posted by Jay-gon Jinn View Post
    He didn't say he had a PC, he has a Prizm...different boards, one of which, the PC, has a voltage regulator...the other one, the Prizm does not. It's been awhile since the development days, but if memory serves, Erv does indeed have reverse polarity protection on the PC and CF boards. Maybe if we're lucky Erv or Zook will chime in and confirm or refute me.

  3. #13

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    No, a protected 18650 doesn't really limit the current. You would need the current to drive your LEDs.
    TCSS MODERATOR
    All n00bs READ these first (PLEASE)!!!:
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    "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before... you want blindingly bright, super loud, running 1138 blinkies off of the cheapest sound card you can find AND you want all of it to run on a battery the size of a dime, and run for a very, VERY long time. That one cracks me up every time..."
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  4. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Forgetful Jedi Knight View Post
    With Saber building, as with ANY electronics, there is a degree of carefulness involved, if everything was "fool proof" we would only be selling prewired things that could only do certain things. With options comes responsibilities - being "careful" is one of them.
    I know this is more a philosophical discussion, but I like to debate such things for a change... While I agree generally to this statement, certainly the term ANY is misplaced. Electronic industry definitely aims more and more for "fool proof" and safety, and not only in the "high" segments (aerospace, medical, automotive), but also in the field of consumer electronics.
    At the end of the day mostly the application decides about the level of "fool proofness".
    As for electronics for saber, definitely it's a small and special nichee, but I can see here 2 application segments:
    1. electronics for pre-made replicas and toys: I mean mainly Hasbro, but also smaller companies manufacturing full sabers. For these electronics, making it un-proof can even be a design target, because tampering with the electronics void the warranty. There, if someone wants to make modification, he or she must be careful and be aware of the consequences.
    2. full DIY electronics, now here per definition the users deal with "naked" boards, exposed to whatever the environment throws at it (ESD, electrical overstress, you name it). For such electronics in the industry the highest risks are correlated to their probability of occurence and safety/protection features are dimensioned accordingly. Without using complicated tools, it's quiet easy to see that in terms of damaging potential and probability, reverse polarity is by far the Numero Uno of all evils. In this sense, it would be good practice to protect the board from that.

    Only my opinion, no offence meant!

  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zook View Post
    Yeah if the voltage is reversed it will blow the main cap and possibly the audio amp. I am out of pocket for a day or two. We can work on getting it repaired after Christmas.
    Zook, I still can't pm you for some reason. Let me know when you would be able to help with this.

  6. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by forsytjr View Post
    Zook, I still can't pm you for some reason. Let me know when you would be able to help with this.
    I believe that you need to have at least 10 posts to PM.
    TCSS MODERATOR
    All n00bs READ these first (PLEASE)!!!:
    1. Forum Guidelines
    2. FJK’s “Down and Dirty” guide to Ohm’s Law

    "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before... you want blindingly bright, super loud, running 1138 blinkies off of the cheapest sound card you can find AND you want all of it to run on a battery the size of a dime, and run for a very, VERY long time. That one cracks me up every time..."
    My email: fjk_tcss@yahoo.com

  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by Forgetful Jedi Knight View Post
    I believe that you need to have at least 10 posts to PM.
    That would make sense since I was at 8. 10 now.

  8. #18

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    Just wanted to post to say that Zook did a fantastic job fixing my board at an affordable price and quick turnaround time. I highly recommend his services!

  9. #19

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    Glad to hear that this is resolved.


    Thread locked - FJK
    TCSS MODERATOR
    All n00bs READ these first (PLEASE)!!!:
    1. Forum Guidelines
    2. FJK’s “Down and Dirty” guide to Ohm’s Law

    "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before... you want blindingly bright, super loud, running 1138 blinkies off of the cheapest sound card you can find AND you want all of it to run on a battery the size of a dime, and run for a very, VERY long time. That one cracks me up every time..."
    My email: fjk_tcss@yahoo.com

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